At WVC 2017, Dr. Charlotte Lacroix provided detailed insight on workplace bullying.
At the 2017 Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Charlotte Lacroix, DVM, JD, discussed workplace bullying, with a focus on defining it, discussing its legal framework, and implementing strategies for defending against it in veterinary practices.
To read Part 1 of this article, click here.
Defining Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying, as defined by the Workplace Bullying Institute, is the “repeated mistreatment of one or more employees with the intent of humiliation, intimidation, and sabotage of performance.” It is a productivity killer, costing an estimated $200 billion dollars per year in decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and high turnover, according to recent research.
Workplace bullying is often deliberate and hurtful with the intent to control others. Managers and supervisors are often the perpetrators of workplace bullying, but this behavior can be found at any organizational level. Examples of workplace bullying include:
Recognizing Workplace Bullies
Simply calling an employee a bully is not enough to address the problem; describing the bullying behavior is necessary. Dr. Lacroix mentioned several types of workplace bullies:
Legal Impact of Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullies are a potential legal threat to employers. Currently, though, no laws exist to protect against workplace bullying. However, if the bullying is motivated by discriminatory bias against a protected class of people (eg, women, African-Americans), then bullying becomes harassment and thus punishable by law. Dr. Lacroix advised veterinary practice owners to familiarize themselves with federal and state protective classes.
Dr. Lacroix mentioned the Healthy Workforce Bill, which would make workplace bullying legally actionable without the protected class requirement. Interestingly, she noted that most veterinary practice owners would not want workplace bullying to be actionable, for fear of frequent lawsuits by employees.
Creating An Anti-Bullying Policy
According to Dr. Lacroix, the best defense against workplace bullying is a clearly-worded anti-bullying policy that is part of the employee manual. A good anti-bullying policy should include:
Discussing bullying behavior
If an employee is accused of workplace bullying, the veterinary practice owner or manager should speak with that employee. Dr. Lacroix emphasized that “every sit-down conversation must be documented in your employee file on that employee.” This document should follow a template:
In addition to having individual meetings, Dr. Lacroix suggested having workplace discussions about bullying with the entire staff. These discussions, which should also be documented, would help get all employees on the same page about bullying and sensitize them to that behavior.
Dr. JoAnna Pendergrass received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Following veterinary school, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Dr. Pendergrass is the founder and owner of JPen Communications, LLC, a medical communications company.